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Hybrid .4 07
'WARNING: THERE WILL BE A BRIEF USAGE OF MILD SWEAR WORDS. IF YOU ARE UNOKAY WITH THIS, THE AUTHOR OF THIS STORY RECOMMENDS SKIPPING THIS CHAPTER.' Author's Note #1: The events that occur in this story are based off Human .4. The story was written by Mike A. Lancaster, and this author is not affiliated with Human .4 in any way. Author's note #2: This is a continuation of Hybrid .4 06. It will only make sense if you read the link above. Author's Note #3: This author owns none of the art and images shown. ---- Only seconds later, I was woken up by an alarm. I'd been paralyzed of fear in my nightmare, which I hadn't realized at the time was a vision, and it was the exact wake-up call I needed. Hearing the blaring ripped me back into the real world, and the landing was harder than it should've been. The noise I heard registered slowly, and I thought for it was that stupid alarm clock I used when I got up for school at 6 am. Thank God it wasn't. The alarm had the same effect on my peers. All four were sitting up in their bunks, looking startled and dazed. Lilly had her ears covered, Kyle's hair was out of control, Heidi dropped out of her bed, and Eric had his head under his pillow, mumbling something I couldn't understand. Although my vision was blurry, I could see someone coming inside. It was one of the 0.4 who had agreed to let us sleep here. Her name was Christine. "Are you guys okay?" "You didn't tell us about the security system..." I laid back, already half-asleep. "I'm so sorry, I have no idea what that is." Christine sounded worried. "We'll try to turn it off, you guys can try to go back to bed." Kyle sighed. "No, we're already awake now, might as well see what it is." I felt like throwing up. I had no idea what time it was, but it was definitely still dark out. I felt like I'd been up in space, and now my body was getting used to gravity again. But still, I dragged myself onto the cold floor, and pushed up onto two feet. I knew that what Kyle says goes, and I'm not one to ignore my friends. Although, maybe that part about Kyle getting his way isn't so true anymore. ---- As it turns out, it wasn't a ship alarm that woke us up, it was a car alarm. Only a few feet across from us, a sleek black car had slammed into a tree. I'm no engineer, but the damage looked unfixable. Especially the front half. But the car wasn't the thing that interested us. It was the people that came out directly out of it. "....Everyone okay?" "Yeah, we're alright. Thanks." "No thanks to you." Like a rescue team, we all rushed over to help. I took a quick count of who was outside: Me, Kyle, Lilly, Heidi, Eric, Christine, and two other guys named Dwight and Ross. Eight of us, but sixteen if you included everyone who stayed inside. There were three people who'd been inside the car: two guys, and one girl. In total, that made nineteen 0.4, but that number would decrease very soon. Lilly helped the girl, who collapsed just as she reached her. "Oh my God!" "Hands up where I can see them!" Dwight ordered, holding up a gun toward the strangers. "Dude, put that away!" Ross scowled. "They're just kids!" One of the guys stepped forward, holding his hands up. He had messy hair and the biggest brown eyes I'd ever seen."Hey, listen! We don't want any trouble! Please, we're not armed!" "He's right, man. These guys don't even have pocket knives." Eric backed the visitors up. Dwight lowered his weapon. "I'm sorry, you just startled us." "We didn't mean to. It was my friend's fault." The guy turned to glare at his friend, who had blonde hair and striking gray eyes. "Look, it's fine." I spoke up, looking over at the boy with blonde hair. "Just...tell us what happened." "I dunno. He just...crashed." The first boy shrugged. "My name's Benson, by the way. This is Becky, and that's Curtis." Kyle stood next to me. "Nice to meet you, Benson. I'm Kyle, and this is Trevor. But how was your friend here driving a car when they're off-limits?" "Pardon?" Benson didn't seem to get it. My best friend groaned. "Oh, splendid. Heidi, care explaining to Benson here what's up?" He asked, leading Benson over to Heidi. What's up was our code term to explain to oblivious 0.4 about the 1.0 and Upgrades. "I saw something." "Mmm, what?" I looked up. Had Benson's friend just spoken? "I saw something." The guy repeated. "It drew my attention away for half a second. The next thing I know, the car smashes into a tree, and Becky's hurt." That doesn't explain why you were able to drive. I thought. "Okay, what did this thing look like?" "People were surrounding it like...moths and a lamp, or ships and a beacon at nighttime. It was supposed to be a flame of hope, but the candle was electric." He explained. That made no sense whatsoever. "Alright dude, you might wanna be more specific. Any physical attributes you'd be able to recognize it by?" "Guys, look!" Heidi called out, interrupting our conversation. I followed her gaze and looked to where she was pointing, only to nearly go blind. A light was igniting from not too far away, shining like a spotlight. It was so bright, I could only see clearly when I squinted. "It's a signal!" Lilly cried, dashing closer to get a better look at it. Eric began to panic. "Who's sending it?" "Who cares?!" Christine was also panicking. "We need to get over there! Someone might be hurt!" "Everyone ignore it!" We turned to look at Kyle. No way was he for real. "You're joking." Someone said uncertainly, taking the words straight from my mouth. Kyle shook his head. "I am one-hundred-percent serious right now. Regardless of whether it's a beam or The Programmers, that thing is dangerous. We should leave it alone." "Oh, and how exactly would you know? Huh, huh?!" Dwight countered my friend's argument. "Are you a psychic?" "Come on! Heidi?! Eric?! Trevor?! You guys gotta believe me!" Kyle sounded different than his usual calm self: at that moment, he sounded desperate. I didn't answer, I was trying to think about what Curtis had said: It was supposed to be a flame of hope, but the candle was electric. What was that supposed to mean? Did it have anything to do with my dream about Kira and her friend Nat? "Look, dude, chill out." Eric pat his companion on the shoulder. "We know you have history with bright lights and every time you see one, you assume it's The Programmers. Believe me, you've got the right instinct, but it might be someone who needs our help. We have to take the risk." And just like that, the leader of The Unicorns lost it. "Why do we have to help everyone we see?!" I was more shocked than being woken up by a car alarm. For the two months I'd traveled with Kyle, I'd never once seen him be anything but calm. He'd always been the one I'd tell funny stories of Maddie and Ethan to, or ask for advice when times were tough. Now, seeing him as an emotional wreck, I had no clue what had gotten into him. This wasn't like him at all. "What's his deal? Why is he crying over a light?!" Kyle's behavior gathered the attention of Ross, who I'd forgotten was there. "Is he just being a baby?" I elbowed him aggressively, flashing back to that first night where I'd broken down. "Oh, shut up! He's allowed to cry, he's human!" "And I thought Maxfield was weird..." Benson was suddenly there as well. "Hey, hey! Nobody asked for either of your opinions!" Heidi glared at the two 0.4. "Now get outta here, leave us alone!" Lilly seemed to understand. "Kyle...is this about Annette?" There was a pause, as the two lovebirds started tearing up, leaving the rest of us more concerned than we were five seconds ago. Neither of them had ever mentioned the name Annette, but whoever he or she was, they must've been important, if just the name made Kyle and Lilly cry. "...Come on guys, you all should get back to bed. It's too late for people to be up." Christine ended the moment firmly. She definitely didn't seem to like how everyone's mood had rehabilitated. "Um, but what about Benson and his friends? They don't have anywhere to stay anymore." I changed the subject, glancing over at the trio that survived the car crash. "Don't worry, they'll sleep in the room next to yours." Ross had become helpful again. "We'll give them room for free, but only for the first night." He said, warningly nodding to Benson, Curtis, and the girl, Becky. ---- As Christine, Dwight, and Ross led the newcomers inside the ship, we stayed behind, too stunned for words. The light continued to shine, as if begging for our attention. Heidi wrapped Lilly in her arms, being her support for once rather than vice versa. "It's okay, it's okay..." "Dude, that got tight very quickly." Eric muttered to me, his arms crossed. "I know." I replied. "And it was all over a stupid light." He turned around to continue staring at it. "Do you think we should check it out?" "....Are you kidding me?!" That made me pissed. "After everything we just put Kyle through, you still want to see what the hell it is?!" "I just think it could be someone in danger, I'm sorry!" Eric insisted. I sighed. "It's okay. I've just never seen Kyle fall apart like he did tonight." "Me neither." He agreed. "But who do you think this Annette person is?" "Don't bring it up. She's probably dead." It wasn't exactly like we had the cruelty to anyway. Backstories were always hard on 0.4, and we usually just steered clear of them altogether. Before Eric could reply, a hand was placed on my shoulder. "Let's go." I turned around. Kyle's eyes were red and puffy from crying, his hair was shaggier than normal, and his lip was trembling. I don't say this often, but...he looked like a hot mess. "Are you sure, man? How about we all just go inside, and get some shut eye? You-you're probably just tired." "I couldn't save Annette." Kyle refused to listen. "But I want to save whoever is sending that signal." Eric glanced over at Heidi, making sure she was catching this. "Dude, it's okay. They'll be fine." "NO!" He screamed, catching us off guard. We silently agreed that was the end of the debate. We were going to follow the light. And from there, everything went downhill. Category:Stories Category:The Upgrade Parts Category:H.4 Parts